Chapter 103

I stayed in a hotel for a few days.
It was a luxurious facility. Even in a lawless society, people live together. Naturally, there are classes and luxury accommodations.
The name I gave at check-in was Karajam. It was written exactly as it appeared on the fake ID. During his time in Banzar, Kim will be known as Karazam.
And I was in the middle of breakfast.
“……blink.”
Kim looked down at his bowl with trepidation. Instead of fumbling around, he read the note with a nonchalant gesture.
“11:30 PM, Alchata textile mill, drug deal interrupted. And a good meal.”
“A good meal, sure.”
I put it in my head and swallowed it with my food. Perhaps I should tell him to contact me in a different way in the future.
“What if I can’t see it and eat it.
In any case, the directive itself was concise.
Stopping the drug trade. It’s a job for the police, but the means can be drastic. Ekidna is not about policing.
“They’re trying to cut off the funding of a hostile organization, or something like that.
There are no good guys in Banzar, no matter how good they may seem on the outside, the people at the top are connected to criminal organizations.
“Besides, I’m getting harder and harder to talk to.
I can’t remember the number of people I’ve killed. Even if you think you’re doing good, standards are relative. You may be seen as outrageously evil by someone else.
What’s left is understandable.
What separates Ekidna from the rest is that she has a vision, a direction. That’s why Kim Yi-hyun chose to work under her.
Of course, that would require a higher stock price.
“Let’s make it colorful while we’re at it.
Getting a quote seemed like a no-brainer. With his brakes out, he had plenty of options.
* * *
11:34 PM.
“Okay, that’s clear.”
Boom!
With six men standing by, a man zipped up his bag. A middle-aged woman watched him sling the strap over his shoulder and sighed.
“Did you count them all again?”
“Sure, sure. Anything less and I’m out.”
“Never mind, just give me the stuff.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
The woman takes another bag from the man. She glances inside and smiles.
It was her business and her future.
“Do you mind if I don’t check that?”
“What do I know, it’s the same color and smell.”
“You’ll know when you try it.”
“I don’t have a job. I grew up with stoners.”
“Haha, just saying.”
The organization doesn’t want a junkie as a courier. She’s a sane person who knows how to be satisfied in moderation, even if it means looking out for her own best interests.
“Well, don’t worry, I didn’t mean any harm.”
Distributing to market is also laborious. Customers who buy in bulk and cleanly, even if it means taking a margin in the middle, are rare. Our interests are aligned.
The man clicked his tongue as he lit a cigarette.
“Bitch, we should be expanding our business like crazy, not hiding in this shitty place doing nothing.”
Nuova Era. They were always the problem.
They have an abhorrent aversion to medicine. It’s the boss’s nature. Not only do they train their members thoroughly, but they also keep a watchful eye on their territory to make sure there are no drugs floating around.
Even now, when growth is slower than before, Nuova Era’s territory is expanding. As it does, the pie for other organizations is getting smaller…….
“I don’t know what the higher-ups think.”
“The wench must have rolled herself, for she has one face and a half-”
Beep, beep, beep!
An unexpected electronic sound shattered the silence of the night.
“What, what!”
The man yelled, pulling out his gun. He wasn’t alone; a dozen heads in the factory turned almost simultaneously.
The sound was coming from a shelf in the corner.
“Hey, go check it out.”
“You mean me?”
“Then I’ll do it, go away, asshole!”
The young man who got his ass kicked walked hesitantly to the shelf. It’s not hard to find the source. The electronic sound was still going on.
The footsteps stopped in front of a cardboard box.
For some reason, I had an ominous feeling. I knew I shouldn’t open it. But I felt a piercing gaze on my back, and I couldn’t stay still.
“C’mon, youngest, come on in….”
The young man muttered and put the flashlight to his mouth. He pulled a folding knife from his arm and opened the box. White light poured in from above, illuminating the dark interior.
Beep, beep!
There was some kind of frog-shaped toy there.
“……Ha, who pulls this shit.”
The tense young man let out a breath. His narrowed eyes took in the specifics of the toy. It had a display in the center, like a character alarm clock.
The number shown is 15, which is decreasing by 1 every second.
“Anything?”
“It was nothing, some kid must have been there.”
He picked up the toy, and out came a thin string.
“Huh?”
The string led into the box.
Upon closer inspection, the height of the box did not match the position of the floor. The inside of the box was shallow. I couldn’t see much with my limited vision, but there was a plank stuck in the middle.
The young man’s jaw dropped as he lifted the plank.
A cylindrical stick wrapped in bright red paper. A wick protruding from the center of a bundle tied tightly with string. That which is knotted and connected to the string on which a toy is suspended.
“Da, da, diner…!”
The young man, horrified, stumbled backward.
Half-unconsciously, his eyeballs rolled. The numbers appeared on the toy. One by one, the number dropped to two, then changed back to one.
And.
Beep!
It was the last sound he heard in his life.
* * *
The difference between 3 and 4 stars on Polaris is pretty significant.
The crucial difference is the means of acquisition. Whether it’s an agent or a special weapon, up to 3-star, you can get them through content in addition to pulls. It’s free-to-play territory, so to speak.
At 4 stars, the path to achievement is limited.
Unless you’re giving them away in an event or monthly mileage format. I’m not untouchable, but I usually spend money on hiring agents.
Equipment pulls are known to be the preserve of paying users.
But…….
“Once you get a taste, you can’t get out.
Only those who’ve picked it up and used it know. Of course, it may not be necessary. I often hear the phrase “you don’t need high-end equipment to break it,” which, when turned around, means this.
“It’s easier to wake up when you’re there.
As you move up the tiers, not only does the variety increase, but so does the performance. You don’t need to go all the way up to 6 stars, there are plenty of great 4 stars out there.
[Dynamite and Alarmbot are examples of this.
─Kaaaaaah!
“Gasoline.”
Kim whistled, his hat pressed tightly to his head. The sight of an entire factory being blown away was a once-in-a-lifetime sight.
* * *
In an auspicious turn of events, Kim became a member of Nuova Era. A position far above the rank and file. He has no direct reports and is granted the right to speak to Ekidna alone.
From what I heard, there was some noise within the organization, but I didn’t know.
“I’ll figure it out.
Kim came to Banjar for two main reasons.
The first is experience. I’ve fought here and there in different places, but my career is still young. There is an absolute lack of experience. Not just in combat, but in operations in general.
Secondly, there are items that you need to pack. This was an unattainable goal in Timorta. For now, it was a preliminary step to get further inside.
The streets were abuzz with rumors.
“They say there’s a madman in Nuova Era.”
“Oh, you’re a third-rate mobster with a woman’s head.”
“Shh, shh, shh, you’re going to get in trouble…!”
“Don’t get all high and mighty on me, bro. I know I’m from Trapani, but if the real badasses saw it, they’d laugh their heads off. The way the city’s hoodlums are walking around with their shoulders up…….”
“Uh, uh, uh, uh!”
A bicycle lurched in front of the bluffing young man, and they both jumped to the side in horror. The bike whizzed past the young man.
“Hmph, hmph. Fuck….”
Hit-and-runs are common in Timor-Leste. It could have been a coincidence. But the young man couldn’t help but reflect on his behavior, which he had always criticized Nuova Era.
Influence.
The key was influence. When there is no single, dominant force in a city, but rather a patchwork of groups, any one of which starts to pop up, it naturally attracts attention.
The recent recruit to Nuova Era was both feared and feisty. It was also the source of Ekidna’s headaches.
“Oh, you crazy asshole. What are you, some kind of bomb blowing hobby?”
“No way. You’re not some kind of pervert.”
“But why the hell does this keep happening…!”
“Because it’s easier?”
“I’m uncomfortable! Do you have any idea how hard it is to clean up after an explosion?”
Kim shook his head.
“You’re not doing it.”
“I’ll give you orders instead, and all your complaints come to me.”
“Was he the kind of guy who lived by his subordinates?”
“All the complaints from below should be told to shut the fuck up, but the world, for fuck’s sake, isn’t just up and down.”
Ekidna flicked her bangs hysterically.
“There’s a certain unwritten rule,” he says, “that you can’t just start laying mines and throwing grenades in a petty insurrection. It’s not a war zone.”
“Hmm.”
“If you get it, say it straight.”
“Got it.”
And yet, there is no sign of remorse. This attitude was the problem. It doesn’t matter how good you are if you can’t control it.
Ekidna’s eyes grew cold.
“I remember when you said you were here.”
“It’s been about three years. I don’t know why.”
“Three years is a long time.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“No, I guess I didn’t know the direction of the organization yet.”
Kim added, offhandedly.
“You mean it’s just right now?”
“What?”
“One of the big boys in Timorta. Same old, same old, walk the streets, do some odd jobs, run a hotel, and have a stable life. Comfortable.”
It wasn’t demeaning, and the phrase “one of the big boys” was accurate. He’s made his money the way he said he would, and he’s never been short of it.
Ekidna frowned despite the fact that it was just the truth. Three years. It had grown quickly, but last year hadn’t been much different than now.
By now, the organization was stagnant.
“I apologize if I was presumptuous. I’ll refrain in the future.”
“……No. No, although some restraint is in order.”
He clenches his brow and lets out a huge sigh.
“That’s it, go away.”
“What’s next?”
“Not yet, so take it easy, and don’t get yourself into any trouble.”
When Kim left, Ekidna was left alone.
She sank back in her chair and surveyed the room with her eyes.
A penthouse in everyday life. It’s a sophisticated interior that’s rarely seen in Timor-Leste. The wine cabinet is filled with hard-to-find fine wines.
We could confidently say that we were successful, but we were far from our original goal.
“Yeah, if I was going to settle for that, I wouldn’t have gotten here in the first place.”
She remembered her beginnings. She hadn’t just woken up to a man she’d barely known. She was already feeling dissatisfied with her current situation.
There is order in the lawlessness.
Balance of power between factions. You can kick down a ladder to prevent a newcomer from growing, but it’s hard to beat an established power. Cartels naturally form.
“I thought you were a bunch of unimprovable rednecks. That’s what I was made of.”
Ekidna pressed her index finger to her temple and twisted it, a habit she did when she was deep in thought. It was a routine she was aware of.
And then I realized it had been a while.
It’s proof that you’ve been living comfortably, unthinkingly, and negligently. That was the case with my first encounter with Karazam, and it shouldn’t be this way. There are too many stairs to climb to stop.
“So, what do we do?”
Karajam had literally dropped a bomb. Organizations that were already disgruntled with Nuova Era would soon begin to resent him.
What they’re looking for is a “good faith attitude.
By cooperating with the Cartel. To monopolize the interests of Timorta by not encroaching on each other’s territory, not being greedy, and keeping members of similar weight classes.
“I can fix it.
Throw out Karazam and that’s it. It’s just one person. It’s not a big gesture, but the fact that you’re sending a gesture of reconciliation is important.
“But, why?
We need to raise the bar a little higher. Even if you’re a powerful man in Timorta, you’re still a country mafia from the outside. There’s no reason to bend over backwards to get in.
And one more thing.
“He’s a bit of a dick, but he’s part of the family now.
It’s too good to throw away.